Turns out, the desert around the Grand Canyon is home to red harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex barbatus). (Image credit: Google Earth) (opens in new tab)Īn odd polka-dot pattern near the cinder cone volcano dubbed Vulcan's Throne on the north rim of the Grand Canyon may have a simple explanation: ants. This weird polka-dot pattern in the vegetation near a volcano on the rim of the Grand Canyon could be the work of red harvester ants. The site was once equipped with missiles in the open air, with embankments between paired launch sites. Here, one of those sites, the Oahu Defense Area in Hawaii, is shown in 1968. His plan is to build a geo-referenced database so that anyone can research the Nike missile sites through Google Earth.

Those missiles became obsolete with the advent of long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (opens in new tab) (ICBMs).ĭavid Tewksbury, a GIS (geographic information system) specialist at Hamilton College in New York, aimed to preserve a visual record of the abandoned Nike missile launch sites before they vanish - either as a result of being reclaimed by nature, repurposed by the military or redeveloped. Some of those missiles even carried nuclear warheads. Nike missiles, which were supersonic surface-to-air missiles, sat ready to launch at nearly 300 sites across the United States during a period of the Cold War, from 1954 to the 1970s. (Image credit: Google Earth) (opens in new tab)

This Google Earth image shows the Oahu Defense Area in Hawaii, which was equipped with missiles in open air with earthen revetments, or embankments, between paired launch sites, shown here in 1968.

Live satellite street view